The Moon is Out (It's not quite full, but it's still enough to see by)
by DarknessAscending
Summary: "There, in the middle, is a purple pokeball with a large letter M on it. She picks it up."


"I'm going to get caught."

Ginger thinks this every time she steps too heavily, every time a floorboard creaks, every time she hears a sudden noise. But eventually, the child is out the front door. The moon isn't quite full, but it illuminates the small town well enough. She takes out a flashlight she snuck with her, and turns it on. It's cold outside, and for a brief moment, she thinks about going back for a jacket. She decides against it, because that would wake up her mom. She wouldn't normally sneak out, but in her opinion, this is more important. Earlier, she had felt a psychic power that would work perfectly with her own. Sure, it's not nearly as powerful as it was when she first sensed it, but it's still faintly there. The red-headed child shakes her head, and begins to run towards Professor Oak's lab - a small, almost unnoticeable, figure in the darkness.

The girl reaches the lab, looking for any way to get inside. Eventually, small eyes settle on an open window by a dumpster. The professor must have forgotten to close it. She climbs up with difficulty - but she DOES manage to climb up. She clamber through the window, falling on the ground. She looks around frantically, terrified that someone may have heard her. Luckily, there doesn't seem to be anyone here this late. She looks around again, taking in her surroundings. There are shelves upon shelves of pokeballs. She giggles. Time to find her perfect partner.

A half hour later and she feels like crying. She knows she felt something. She almost told someone, but she knew what the reply would be. They would tell her that an eight-year old couldn't possibly sense something that wasn't right next to her, and to stop playing pretend so much. Maybe they were right? But still, the power lingers - it's in the lab somewhere. It occurs to her that it might not be stored in the same way as the other pokemon. But why not? Regardless, she looks around for something she may have missed. There, in a corner, is a safe. She slowly walks over to it, running her small hand over the lock. Now, what's the code? On a whim, she puts in the day Champion Red beat the league. She's not entirely sure where she got the idea from, but she's glad she did, because the safe opens. She's hit by a wave of psychic energy, and immediately recoils. However, she forces herself to look inside. There, in the middle, is a purple pokeball with a large letter M on it. She picks it up.

Whatever is inside this pokeball wants out - that much is clear. The pokeball is quivering, as if the pokemon is just barely unable to break free. Ginger doesn't like this. Without thinking, she slams the pokeball to the ground. As soon as the pokemon is out, she slams her foot onto the odd pokeball with strength she didn't know she had. It shatters beneath the force, and she grinds the remains into the ground. She then looks up and takes a moment to examine the pokemon. It's cat-like. It has a light lavender body with a darker tail - it's heavily injured, and barely standing. Still, its purple eyes shine bright with defiance. She looks at it, and it looks at her.

" **You freed me."** The voice in her mind is most definitely male. She nods, too in awe to talk. " **Tell me why."**

"You're hurt," she states, ignoring his question.

" **You did not answer me."**

"But you're hurt!" She runs off and try to find something - anything - that heals wounds. This pokemon looks like it's going to pass out any second now. Looking through drawers, she sees that she's hit the jackpot. Grabbing the item, she rush back over and stand on the tips of her toes.

" **What are you-"** he doesn't get a chance to respond, because it's at that moment that Ginger sprays him in the face with a full restore. He spits out a bit that gets in his mouth, but the wounds begin to close. " **I believe it would have been more effective to apply that directly to the wounds."** He seems a bit annoyed. " **Does the owner of this lab truly pay you for such malpractice?"** She smile sheepishly.

"I'm not supposed to be here," she states awkwardly.

" **Somehow, that doesn't surprise me."** His voice is dripping with sarcasm. " **So why are you here, if not for pay?"**

"I felt your energy." The young girl rushes up and grabs one three-fingered hand. "Please be my friend! Our psychic energy will work so well together!" He looks at her.

" **Do I have a choice?"** She shakes her head, and he sighs in resignation. " **Fine. But I will not be used as a tool."** A childish squeal and she hugs him. After a moment, he awkwardly hugs back, obviously not used to physical affection.

"Can I call you Moony? Because the moon is so big tonight?" She looks up at him, giving him her best puppy eyes. He seems caught off guard by the question. Still, he nods. She takes his hand, leading him back to her home.

(The next day, they would be woken up when Ginger's mother screamed at the sight of a 7-foot tall cat clinging to her daughter like a teddy bear. Ginger will get into a lot of trouble with the professor for releasing the pokemon that Champion Red spent so much time catching. But Moony will have a telepathic conversation with him and he gets to stay with her, and she'll try not to think of what Moony threatened him with because she KNOWS it was a threat. But she wouldn't care, because she'll get to stay with the first friend she ever had.)


End file.
